Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) has written a letter to the president asking for the role of slave labor to be recognized by displaying an appropriate acknowledgement in a public area of the White House.

“Slaves helped dig the foundation for the White House,” Ackerman wrote in correspondence to the White House Thursday. “They quarried stone that would be used for the walls, dug up clay for thousands of bricks, cut timber, sawed lumber, and performed carpentry inside the White House.

“Even after White House construction was completed, slaves continued to support White House operations. Slaves served in White House domestic staff from 1800 through the Civil War.”

“It was a shameful omission that visitors to the Capitol could tour the building to learn its history but not learn that slave labor was used in its construction,” argued Ackerman in a statement released Thursday. “I’m proud Congress took action to correct this failure and I now urge the White House follow suit.”